The present invention generally relates to cable preparation tool for the cable TV industry. More specifically, the present invention relates to cable preparation tool for use with a hollow center conductor.
The present invention relates to the preparation of a coaxial cable with a hollow conductor for the fitting of a connector, especially coaxial cable having a corrugated outer conductor. An example of coaxial cable using a corrugated outer conductor is shown in FIG. 1. The components of the corrugated outer conductor coaxial cable 10 are a center conductor 12, dielectric 14, outer conductor 16 and an outer jacket 18. FIG. 1 shows the center conductor 12 as a hollow conductor. The outer conductor 16 is of a corrugated material with crests 20 and valleys 22. When a cable having a corrugated outer conductor is prepared to receive a connector, a hack saw is usually used to cut the cable to the approximate termination length. More precise preparation of the various cable components is then performed per the connector manufacturer's specifications.
Manufacturer's specifications usually call for unique trim dimensions of the outer jacket, outer conductor, dielectric and center conductor. The trim dimension of each cable component depends on the connector to be used. The trim dimension of any given cable component is often given in reference to another cable component. More specifically, for example, the trim dimension of the outer jacket may refer not only to a specific number of bare corrugations of the outer conductor 14 required, but whether the reference point is at the crest 20 or valley 22 of a specific corrugation. Generally, for most connectors, the trimming of the outer conductor is required at a crest of the corrugated material. Providing the proper trim dimension for each cable component requires the use of off-the-shelf hand tools (including but not limited to a tape measure, scribe, knives, diagonal cutters, pliers, hack saw, wire or nylon brush) used individually to separately prepare the different cable components. It is desired by a technician to have one tool to perform the trimming of all the cable components in one step when preparing a cable end for a connector.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool to prepare a coaxial cable with a hollow conductor by removing the proper amount of material from the coaxial cable.